The Penderwicks, and The Penderwicks on Gardam Street: By Jeanne Birdsall

I enjoyed this wholesome family friendly book so much! The Penderwicks is a story about four sisters named Rosalind, Skye, Jane, and Batty. These four girls go with their father to spend the summer at an estate called Arundel on Cape Cod. They spend their stay in a small cottage on the property and simply cannot wait to explore the grounds and see what they can uncover. In the process, they meet a boy called Jeffery who is the son of the owner of Arundel. Unfortunately for the sisters, Jeffery’s Mother does not approve of these outspoken, adventurous girls and their dog, Hound.

One of the very best parts about this book is how well the author gives each of the girls an individual personality and voice. They are so different, but each share a very special bond that reminded me very much of my sister and brothers. The way they get along, fight, and often appreciate one another, albeit grudgingly, rang vey true for me.

All in all, I think this was a fun, happy reading sort-of a book. Unfortunately, the sequel The Penderwicks on Gardam Street did not feel the same for me. This is a classic example of a sequel falling short of the first installment. That’s not to say that this book was bad. In fact, I liked it alright. It was great to revisit the characters and see them grow up a little. It was fun reading about their new adventures as well. But, this book lacked the charm and whimsy of Jeanne Birdsall’s first book.

The Penderwicks on Gardam Street is a story about the four sisters dealing with the fact that their father has started to date again. It had been a long time since the death of their mother and the girls’ Aunt encourages Mr. Penderwick to move on with his life and start dating again. When the girls find out, they develop the Save-Daddy-Plan. Unfortunately, their own problems and individual concerns seem to be getting in the way of them putting a stop to their Father’s new social agenda.

This book sounded so great to me, but I couldn’t help but be a bit disappointed with it. I enjoyed the original book, The Penderwicks so much that I may have set my expectations too high. Often, I judge a book by whether or not I’d read the book again. I would most definitely read The Penderwicks again, but I can’t say the same for the squeal. The story was sweet enough and it even had a happy ending, which I’m usually a fan of. Yet, when I finished Gardam Street, all I said was, “Huh. That was cute.”

Why I Love A Series.

At an early age, I became a fan of the children's book series. Among my favorites were The Baby-Sitters Club, Sweet Valley High and Anne of Green Gables. I felt even then that the best part about a book was getting to know the characters. For me, these fictional characters were friends I could visit any time I wanted without ever leaving my house and I still find the same is true today.

There are some excellent stand alone books out there- I've even reviewed some on my blog- but I love it so much when I can revisit the same characters over and over again in a new way. Admittedly, sometimes I read the first book in a series and love it, then go on to the next ones and feel disappointment because they failed to be as good as the first. It's sort-of like watching a movie sequel that fails to live up to the same standard of the first film. Sure it's great to see the familiar faces, but it lacks that spark produced the first time around and the same is true for literature.

Lucky for me, the number of book series I like has grown at a rapid rate over the last several years. A few that comes to mind are Harry Potter, The Sisters Grimm and my new love, the Charlie Bone Series (which I will talk about at a later date).

I think the trick in doing a series well is to have the characters strike a chord with readers in some way. What I like might be different then what someone else enjoys, but the trick is in getting someone to love the character, and continue to love them enough to keep reading. Plus, each series book has to be exciting, interesting, and have a good plot.

What really makes a series work, is that if the book had to, it could stand on its own. Take the Sisters' Grimm series, you could read any story in that series and understand what is happening because the author explains what's happened in past books to the reader. The author makes it easy to read the book on its own, but usually uses a hook at the end to bring the reader back for more.

I also love getting to see the characters grow and change throughout a series of books. That's how it is in the Harry Potter series. Each book is one year at Hogwarts. Harry changes from a sad, lonely boy into a man. The changes are gradual and sometimes difficult, but as readers, we get to grow up with Harry.

The same is true for my childhood love, Anne of Green Gables. I still have the original copies of my books. The pages are yellowed and falling out, but I can't seem to bring myself to replace them. For me, those yellowed pages represent a friend who, however old and worn, is just as dear to me as any flesh-and-blood friend I've ever had.

That is the true reason I love books, especially book series. Someone might carry them with them forever, just like me.

The Mysterious Benedict Society: By Trenton Lee Stewart

This was a book that I picked up several times in the bookstore. You know how sometimes something sounds really good, but you are not sure about it? So, you put it back, then then next time you go to the bookstore you do the same thing. That's how this book was for me. The back of it gives you so little to go on as far as description. It says, "Are you a Gifted Child looking for Special Opportunities?" and goes on to explain that this was an ad put in the paper that dozens of kids responded to. Then, they had to perform a series of crazy tests, but in the end only a few were chosen. The few that were picked were told they would go on a secret mission. Huh. Not much to go on. So, I thought, what the heck! I bought it and I was very glad that I did.

This book is about four kids, Reyine Muldoon a boy who's good at puzzles, Sticky Washington a boy who's uncommonly book smart, Kate Weatherall a resourceful girl who's a great inventor, and Constance Contraire a girl who's good at poetry and being stubborn. These four each discover that they passed a test designed to find kids who were selected by Mr Benedict and his associates for a very important task: saving the world.

Because they are all so different, each child brings something unique to the mission. They each have strengths and weaknesses but find that they work very well with one another, and even become good friends.

This book is so interesting. It reminded me of a Roald Dahl story. It blends clues and capable kids with riveting text to create a magical world that is both unique and intriguing. I really enjoyed this book. Having said that, it may not be the easiest book for beginning readers. It uses big words and it may be a bit advanced for say, an eight year old. If you are a fan of Dahl, then you might like this as it has a similar feel to it. This book is a very good read.

The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy-Tale Detectives: By Michael Buckley

This my friends, is one fabulous series. The Sisters Grimm book series is about two little girls named Sabrina and Daphne Grimm whose parents mysteriously disappeared. These two girls were shuffled from one foster home to the next until they came to live with Relda Grimm, a grandmother they never knew they had, in a town called Fairyport landing. Here's the fantastic part; Sabrina and Daphne are descendants of the Brothers Grimm whose fairy tales are not actually make-believe stories, but actual historical accounts of the lives of these fairy tale folks.

So where do these girls fit in? It has always been the job of the Grimm family to protect to protect the people of Fairyport Landing as fairy tale detectives. In the first book, The Fairy Tale Detectives, Sabrina and Daphne have to stop a giant from destroying their new found home.

What I like best about these books is the way Buckley blends these stories with real life scenarios. For example, Snow White is the local school teacher and Puck, from Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream, is a flying Fairy that lives with the girls' Granny Relda and is every bit as mischievous as readers expect him to be.

In all honesty, these books are just fun. I spent a great deal of my childhood reading Fairy-tales and when my sister told me about these books, I rushed out to buy them all. They even look like old volumes of fairy-tales with their hard covers embossed with gold writing and a small picture that looks like a snapshot on the cover. What could be better than that?

These books are excellent for readers just starting out too because Buckley is very gifted at explaining things simply, so the reader understands what he means. I would highly recommend these to anyone who wants to be entertained from cover to cover.